Home > St. Feuillien Speciale brewed by Brasserie St. Feuillien in Belgium

St. Feuillien Speciale brewed by Brasserie St. Feuillien in Belgium

St. Feuillien Speciale brewed by Brasserie St. Feuillien in Le Roeulx,
Belgium

St. Feuillien Speciale is the pinnacle of the brewing art at St. Feuillien.
It’s brewed in the middle of the year, aged for a minimum of 6 weeks in cold
tanks and then bottle conditioned in the warm room for 2 more weeks. The
result is a beer that has clean, delicious ﬂavor and a beautiful, elegant
condition. Carbonation is ﬁne, the foam collar is creamy. Speciale is dark
brown, very full bodied and very ﬂavorful. Aromas and ﬂavors of ﬁg, date and
currants mingle with allspice, cinnamon and cocoa on the palate and in the
nose. Best served at 50º-55ºF for maximum ﬂavor.

Beer Review by Beer
Advocate
Appearance: As served the beer is a bright clear Mahogany color with lots of
reddish pale highlights from the room lighting. The 1” foamy tan head soon
recedes leaving nothing on the sides of the glass. By midway through the first
glass there is only the smallest ring of bubbles and a small thin irregularly
shaped island of foam on the liquid. Sipping leaves only a few speckles of
lacing that soon slide down the side of the glass to the liquid.

Aroma: The aroma is clean, fresh, and filled with green orchard fruits which
given its color is a bit of surprise as I was expecting something more in the
way of dark orchard fruits. There are also hints of cherries here which show
more as the beer warms.

Taste: The flavor is a subtle mix that is partly predicted by the nose in that
the green orchard fruits are complimented by some refreshing light semi-sweet
cherry and a hint of chocolate and a touch of caramel. Neither the hops nor the
alcohol are showing here except in their effects (e.g., the warmth from the
alcohol shows fairly soon.)

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied with some faint, lightly prickly
carbonation. The medium length finish is fruity and soft, fading gently away
into a touch of dryness.

Drinkability and Overall Impression: This is a very nice beer where one sip
follows another with the kind of ease that makes a beer with ABV this high one
to take especial care with. My overall impression is that this is indeed a
special beer and I’m glad I decided to give it a try. There are two words to be
used in summarizing my impressions of this beer, they are “subtle” and
“complex.”

The History of St. Feuillien
Since 1873, the Friart family has brewed sophisticated, delicious beers at their
brewery in Le Rouelx, in the heart of French-speaking Wallonia.St. Feuillien
boasts one of the most beautiful, artisanal and original breweries in all of
Belgium. It’s old-fashioned design uses gravity, not pumps, to transfer beer
before and after fermentation. Malt, hops, and water all go to the top of the
building and beer comes out the basement. Secondary fermentation at a very low
temperature for up to 6 weeks gives all St. Feuillien beers a ﬁne, sophisticated
and delicious ﬂavor. Beer this good takes time.